EE 3329 - Electronic Devices Syllabus
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EE 3329 – Electronic Devices Syllabus (“Extended Play”) The University of Texas at El Paso The following concepts can be part of the syllabus for the Electronic Devices (EE 3329) course. Note that the list of topics cannot be covered in a semester, it is up to the individual...
Drift Lesson
Lesson Topic: Drift Objective of Lesson: To understand the concept of drift in semiconductors. Reading Assignment: Section 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 Homework: None What do you need to know for the exam? 1. What must be present for there to be drift current? 2. What determines the polarity of...
Diffusion Lesson
Lesson Topic: Diffusion Objective of Lesson: To get an introduction to diffusion of particles and random thermal motion. Reading Assignment: Section 3.2 Discussion Questions: 1. Are carriers motionless when there is no concentration gradient? 2. Come up with your own example of...
Recombination of Electrons Lesson
Lesson Topic: Recombination of Electrons Objective of Lesson: To learn about recombination of electrons and holes in semiconductors. Reading Assignment: Sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.4 Discussion Questions: 1. What are the differences among the three mechanisms of recombination in...
Crystalline Structure
Lesson Topic: Crystalline Structure Objective of Lesson: To learn the terms amorphous, polycrystalline, and crystalline. Reading Assignment: Chapter 1 Discussion Questions: 1. Compare and contrast amorphous, polycrystalline, and crystalline semiconductors in terms of material quality and...
Bonding Model Lesson
Lesson Topic: Bonding Model Objective of Lesson: To learn how to depict a crystal on a two-dimensional surface. Reading Assignment: 2.2.1 Discussion Questions: 1. How much paper would it take to show a silicon crystal at room temperature with a representative number of broken bonds? 2....
Carriers in Semiconductors Lesson
Lesson Topic: Carriers in Semiconductors Reading Assignment: Section 2.2.3 Discussion Questions 1. What is a hole? 2. How are free electrons and broken valence bonds related? Homework: None What do you need to know for the exam? 1. Nothing much here. We are still building general...
Mobility and Scattering Lesson
Lesson Topic: Mobility and Scattering Objective of Lesson: To learn about mobility and scattering, how they are related, and how they are important in semiconductors. Reading Assignment: Section 3.1.3 Discussion Questions: 1. How does scattering impact mobility? 2. What is responsible...
Continuity Equations Lesson
Lesson Topic: Continuity Equations Objective of Lesson: To get some ideas about the continuity equations. Reading Assignment: Section 3.4.1 What do you need to know for the exam? 1. There is nothing to learn for the exam. Summary The continuity equations are bookkeeping equations for...
The One-Dimensional Minority Carrier Diffusion Equations Lesson
Lesson Topic: The One-Dimensional Minority Carrier Diffusion Equations Objective of Lesson: To discuss the derivation of the one-dimensional minority carrier diffusion equations (MCDEs). Reading Assignment: Section 3.4.2 Discussion Questions: 1. What assumptions are needed to derive the...
Simplifying the Minority Carrier Diffusion Equations Lesson
Lesson Topic: Simplifying the Minority Carrier Diffusion Equations Objective of Lesson: To learn how to solve problems for situations in semiconductors using the minority carrier diffusion equations. Reading Assignment: Sections 3.4.3 and 3.4.4 Homework: Problems 3.16-3.22 in the...
Diffusion Lengths Lesson
Lesson Topic: Diffusion Lengths Objective of Lesson: To understand what is a diffusion length. Reading Assignment: Sample Problem 2 and Section 3.5.1 What do you need to know for the exam? 1. Nothing specific except for vocabulary purposes you need to know its meaning. Summary Diffusion...
Quasi-Fermi Levels Lesson
Lesson Topic: Quasi-Fermi Levels Objective of Lesson: To understand quasi-Fermi levels. Reading Assignment: Section 3.5.2 What do you need to know for the exam? 1. You should be able to place a quasi-Fermi level in the band diagram. Summary The quasi-Fermi levels are used to specify (in...
The Ideal Diode Equation Lesson
Lesson Topic: Ideal Diode Equation Objective of Lesson: To be sure you know how to derive the ideal diode equation, that you know what “ideal” is, and that you are aware of the assumptions needed to derive the equation. Reading Assignment: Sections 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 Discussion Questions: 1....
PN Junction: Qualitative Analysis Lesson
Lesson Topic: PN Junction: Qualitative Analysis Objective of Lesson: To get a qualitative rather than quantitative understanding of how a p-n junction works. Reading Assignment: Section 5.1 Discussion Questions: 1. What happens to the built-in potential, Vbi, if the doping on either side...
Semiconductors Composition Lesson
Composition (Image(syncyt.jpg) failed - File not found) All the elements used to make semiconductors appear in Column IV of the Periodic Table or are a combination of elements in columns at equal distance of Column IV on each side. For example, two elemental semiconductor materials are silicon...
Semiconductors Structure Lesson
Structure (Image(syncyt.jpg) failed - File not found) The arrangement of the atoms in a solid is broken down into three classifications: amorphous, polycrystalline, or crystalline. Silicon is the most common semiconductor material being used today because it the most abundant and can be found...
The Fermi Function Lesson
Using The Fermi Function The Fermi function is a probability distribution function. It can only be used under equilibrium conditions. The Fermi function determines the probability that an energy state (E) is filled with an electron when the material we are working with is under equilibrium...
Density of States Lesson
Density of States The number of allowed states in the energy bands grows as the number of atoms in a solid increases. When the number becomes very large, the energy states are so close together they "blend" and become a continuous band of allowed states. These bands become the valence band...
Equilibrium Carrier Concentrations Lesson
Equilibrium Carrier Concentrations Once we know how to determine the carrier distribution, we can find the carrier concentration by integrating over all energies: Electron concentration:(Image(image33.gif) failed - File not found) Hole concentration: (Image(image34.gif) failed - File not...
Drift Current Lesson
Drift Current Drift is, by definition, charged particle motion in response to an applied electric field. When an electric field is applied across a semiconductor, the carriers start moving, producing a current. The positively charged holes move with the electric field, whereas the negatively...
Band Bending and Potential & Kinetic Energies Lesson
Band Bending and Potential & Kinetic Energies Band bending occurs when an electric field is applied to a semiconductor. When an electric field is not applied, the energy bands are not a function of position. Therefore, when an electric field is applied, energy is being supplied to the...
The Threshold Voltage Lesson
Lesson Topic: The Threshold Voltage Objective of Lesson: To learn some details about the threshold voltage for a metal oxide semiconductor capacitor (MOS-C). Reading Assignment: Section 18.3 Homework: None Discussion Questions: 1. List everything that impacts the threshold...
Effective Mobility Lesson
Lesson Topic: Effective Mobility Objective of Lesson: To understand how the gate field in a MOSFET pulls carriers to the semiconductor-oxide interface, increasing. Reading Assignment: Section 17.2.1 Discussion Questions: 1. Why does the effective mobility decrease with increasing...
Square-Law Theory Lesson
Lesson Topic: Square-Law Theory Objective of Lesson: A little bit of exposure to the current-voltage models used for MOSFETs. Reading Assignment: Section 17.2.2 Homework: None Discussion Questions: 1. Why must one assume a very long channel for the square-law theory to be...